Kuai Qing, the second of the system’s four planets (all inhospitable), is a cold, barren chunk of rock that has no atmosphere. It was colonized in 789 by the Trexalon Technical Consortium (TTC) -- a corporate trust that monopolizes the mining, industrial, and interstellar trade sectors of the economy in Trexalon (Spinward Marches 1339). The year before, the TTC had discovered rich and highly diverse mineral deposits on Kuai Qing that had eluded all earlier surveyors because they were buried so deeply in the planetary crust.

The TTC’s mining colony proved to be extremely profitable, and several rival mining firms and hordes of freelance prospectors descended on Kuai Qing to share in the wealth. However, the TTC used tradewar to drive out its corporate rivals, and the freelancers lacked the means to reach the planet’s deeply-buried riches. Without any real competition, the TTC proceeded to purchase or otherwise lay claim to almost the entire planet in less than a decade, but its cutthroat tactics were widely criticized and prompted speculation about intervention by the Imperial authorities.

Therefore, following the example of Trexalon, all of the major population centers and most of the planetary surface were sold to a government formed by the wealthiest local residents -- although the TTC retained control of the mines and was granted exclusive mineral exploitation rights. This allowed the Consortium to disassociate itself from the direct governance of Kuai Qing -- and thus avert Imperial intervention -- while still maintaining its effective monopoly over the economy. Just as on Trexalon itself, the TTC continues to dominate Kuai Qing indirectly by working in close cooperation with a dependent, but legally sovereign local regime. Yet, for sake of appearances, the TTC weilds its power more subtly in the Kuai Qing system -- for example, by allowing the locals to take responsibility for their own defense.

The TTC clearly sees Kuai Qing as a model for economic imperialism throughout District 268. By substituting economic dominance for direct rule, the TTC hopes to fulfill its expansionist ambitions without provoking Imperial intervention. After all, how can the Imperial authorities justify taking drastic action against the TTC when it is merely employing the same tactics beyond the Imperium’s borders that megacorporations routinely use within them? Indeed, the TTC can probably rely upon the support of at least several highly influential megacorporations that would view any attempt to rein it in as establishing a dangerous precedent that could be used to justify taking action against them as well.

It is a government by specific individuals for those who agree to be ruled. Relationships are based on the performance of technical activities which are mutually-beneficial.

The typical power source of this government is an Oligarchy.

The typical power structure of this government is a Hegemony.

In general, Kuai Qing's institutions are modeled closely on Trexalon's. Namely, a small, technocratic elite that owns all of the land and most of those businesses that are not controlled by the TTC monopolizes political power. In exchange, Kuai Qing's citizens pay minimal taxes while receiving a broad range of services (housing, transportation, health care, utilities, etc.) either free or at highly subsidized prices. The only notable difference between the governments of Trexalon and Kuai Qing is that the latter must enforce a far more repressive law enforcement regime because the numerous descendants of freelance prospectors continue to agitate (sometimes violently) against the TTC-backed techno-aristocracy.

Kuai Qing’s population is concentrated in a handful of major cities that are either buried deep under the surface, or carved into the sides of narrow canyons that have been ‘roofed over’ to create habitable environments. Although the economy remains focused in the mining sector, there is also a considerable amount of industry, with electronics and mining equipment being the chief products. In recent years, there has also been considerable production of weaponry for export to Singer, a balkanized, war-ravaged world lying just one parsec to spinward.